U.S. President Donald Trump's National Security Adviser John Bolton's popularity has recently peaked in Turkey, but not in a good way, thanks to statements he made right before his visit to the country.
On Tuesday, Bolton came to the Turkish capital Ankara in order to hold high-level official meetings regarding the Syrian crisis, but he only could talk with the presidential spokesperson. His bad reputation in the country is directly linked to the statements he made along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem before his visit to Turkey.
"The United States would only pull out of Syria if Turkey pledged not to attack its Kurdish allies there," Bolton told reporters on Sunday, referring to the outlawed PKK's nonstate actors, namely the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and People's Protection Units (YPG).
"We don't think the Turks ought to undertake military action that's not fully coordinated with and agreed to by the United States at a minimum so they don't endanger our troops – but also so that they meet the president's requirement that the Syrian opposition forces [the PYD/YPG] that have fought with us are not endangered," Bolton said.
First of all, Bolton's "Kurds" are not the civilian, local people but YPG terrorists that follow a deadly separatist campaign across the region. This is not just a claim – as the United States, represented by John Bolton – had designated the PKK as a terrorist organization years ago. Both the PYD and its armed wing the YPG are administered by the PKK leadership and funded and supplied by the same sources. The bloody PKK and its Syrian offshoots, whose incomes are provided by human and drug trafficking, aim to legitimize themselves in the eyes of the international community.
These very killers, who have also been used by Moscow, Damascus and Tehran before Washington, are responsible for the deaths of almost 40,000 people in Turkey. In addition, in their terror acts, they do not only target Turkish and Kurdish civilians, but also perpetrate cross-border operations, targeting politicians and businessmen in Europe; the assassination of Sweden's Prime Minister Olof Palme in 1986 is an excellent example.
The PKK and the YPG/PYD, which receive financial support from the U.S. (which means they are funded indirectly by U.S. taxpayers) have been committing ethnic cleansing against local people, including Arabs in particular, after capturing the areas in northern Syria. These inhumane stories have been reported by international organizations such as Amnesty International. Their sole difference with the notorious Daesh is their "secular" image. The fact that Kurds are minority groups within YPG ranks is another paradox at present.
Bolton is a veteran U.S. national security official, therefore it is impossible for him not to be aware of such simple facts in Syria.
That being the case, the first thing that comes to mind is that Bolton's words in Jerusalem must have been a part of the U.S.' Syria strategy. However, in a short period of time, it was understood that this is not what President Trump wanted from Bolton. Hence, it is safe to say that there is only one answer here: Bolton has a different Syria agenda than the president.
May the hawkish Bolton may be working in the name of weapons lobbies such as the National Rifle Association (NRA)? Or, perhaps the veteran diplomat, who was also against disarmament negotiations with North Korea, may now be resisting the possible disarmament process in Syria?
If not something like this, then I can't find an excuse or reason for him to break the U.S.' ties with its NATO ally, Turkey, which is the only state welcoming Kurdish people under equal conditions as its own people within its borders.
President Trump and the U.S. taxpayers may suffer a lot more in the near future due to Bolton-like hawkish diplomats that escalate tensions and crises in U.S. foreign policy.